Sunday, December 14, 2008

the house of rza

In what many are calling the most comprehensive study of its kind, Staten Island historians Robert Wilburn and Charles Tinsley have successfully traced the lines of the infamous Wu-Tang Clan all the way back to 1993 A.D.Enlarge Image Historian

Wilburn explains the difficult-to-follow family tree of Ol' Dirty Bastard.

The monumental undertaking, which is being hailed as a major breakthrough in the field of hip-hop genealogy, used a series of historical records—including Wu-Tang Forever, Iron Flag, and 8 Diagrams—to piece together the group's vast and intricate ancestry.

"Through our exhaustive research, we have determined not only the start of the Wu-Tang Clan's reign, but also the very moment of its legendary downfall," said Wilburn, who has authored numerous books on the House of RZA. "Indeed, we now have conclusive proof as to why all the other wannabe MCs bowed down to this dynastic force."

According to Wilburn, it took trained scholars hundreds of hours to parse out Wu-Tang's complex lineage, with experts in nearly every discipline studying the group's dope oral traditions, as well as its customary and often fresh style of dress.